Mortars thudded and bullets whined in Liberia's capital Monrovia this morning as President Charles Taylor's forces tried to fight off a new onslaught by rebels determined to overthrow him.
Mr Taylor vowed to fight to the last man and accused the United States of having "blood on its hands" for urging him to step down while he was trying to beat back the rebels.
Washington says a small US force may be deployed once Mr Taylor leaves.
Tens of thousands of people have flocked to the heart of the city in search of sanctuary, distraught that promised regional peacekeepers had failed to show up in time to prevent a third rebel assault on Monrovia in little more than a month.
Gunfire continued through the night in the districts just beyond the key Gabriel Tucker bridge, which stands at the threshold of the centre of a city, where hundreds of people were killed in the two failed rebel assaults last month.
Residents said a small group of rebels appeared to have bypassed the bridge by crossing the swamp on which Monrovia stands and had tried to gain a foothold there.
Yesterday rebels of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) broke through the northern districts, but Mr Taylor's forces managed to push them back a short way.